State Board of Education Welcomes New Member

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November 09, 2010

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Board of Education on Tuesday welcomed its newest member, William M. “Bill” White of Bluefield. Appointed to the state board by Gov. Joe Manchin, White will serve a nine-year term ending in 2019. He replaces Delores W. Cook of Boone County, whose term expired Nov. 4.

“Mr. White’s expertise will be an invaluable asset as board members work together for the betterment of West Virginia’s children,” said state Board of Education President Priscilla Haden. “We look forward to working with him.”

White currently is the dean of Mountain State University’s School of Leadership and Professional Development in Beckley. He is the founder and CEO of The Management Development Group, a California corporation that specialized in organization development consulting.

White, a graduate of Bluefield State College in Bluefield, W.Va., holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and mathematics. He earned a doctorate in leadership and change from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, Calif. He also holds a graduate certificate in management and leadership from Harvard University. His professional career has included work as a research chemist and executive in the pharmaceutical industry as well as several leadership positions in higher education.

The West Virginia Board of Education's 12 members include nine citizens appointed by the governor and three non-voting ex-officio members — the state superintendent, the chancellor of the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission and the chancellor of the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical College Education. Board members serve overlapping terms of nine years, and no more than five citizen members may belong to the same political party. Established in the West Virginia Constitution, the state board is vested with supervision of the state's elementary and secondary schools.

The West Virginia Board of Education and the West Virginia Department of Education (WVDE) are committed to ensuring all students in the state are college and career ready when they graduate from a public school. What West Virginia students are learning in school exceeds national and international standards. Through the WVDE’s 21st century learning plan called Global21: Students deserve it. The world demands it, West Virginia is seeing better student performance on the West Virginia Educational Standards Test 2 (WESTEST2); the SAT and the ACT college entrance exams; the job skills assessment called Work Keys given to career and technical education students; and in a high school graduation rate that exceeds the national average.

For more information, contact the Office of Communications at (304) 558-2699.